NanoCube 12g Reef - Day 1

Hey there! Welcome aboard

You may consider moving your rocks away from the glass sides a bit ... if they rest on the sides, it will be a challenge to clean the glass sides with a magnetic cleaner.

Good luck!

Thanks. Duly noted. This is my first attempt at saltwater. I've done a few fresh and brackish water tanks in years past, but so far, this is the most exciting (and expensive)! All suggestions welcome...

Why such a deep sand bed? Are you planning on keeping a burrowing species?

Honestly, I didn't want to waste the sand or rocks that I ordered, and according to some of the articles I read, a 4 inch sand bed and a lot of live rock is actually healthy. My sand bed is 2.5" to 3" at the deepest. Some articles recommend 1 to 1.5 pounds of live rock per gallon; my 12 gallon tank has 16 pounds of live rock. I also figured deep sand may help planting frags. Besides, how many nano-fish could you really put in a 12g reef? I figure 4 (or maybe 6 at the most), so why not fill the tank with live rock which will eventually provide footing for corals, polyps, mushrooms, etc. I'm trying for that "abundant ocean look."